Guard rail



Aug. 18, 1925.

v R. E. EINSTEIN ET AL GUARD RAIL FilQd De a @Z a T; m NJ 0 N55 0 5 1 mm cause said Paternaling. l,

some ICE.

- ROBERT E nrivs'rnin Ann ennui/[Iii B. BETTS, or sr no'uis, MISSOURI.

GUARD RAIL.

Application filed December 1, 1924. Serial No. 753,205;

To all eehom it may camera} I Be it known that we, Ropnnr E. EINSTEIN, and BENJAMIN B Burrs, citizens of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Guard Rails,

of which 'thefollowingis a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which,

it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to guard railsf such as are used with railway track frogs and:

with the inside rail of a curved track.

' The main object of our inventionis to provide a guard rail of novelconstruction which is of such designtha t a lateral thrust exerted on same bya passing wheel wlll not lateralLy l n pine between the head of the guard rail and (ahead of the adjacent running rail, therea direction to change the dis -by reducing the trouble and expense of maintaining a railway track inproper gauge.

Another object to provide a guard rail that can be installed quickly and easily .and

in such a way that it cannot move longitudinally, transversely or vertically, and which i can be combined rigidly with the running 3o rail without the use of bolts, clamps or other devices that entail considerable labor on the part of the workman installing 'the guard accurate spaced relation with the adjacent runningrail and which is combined with saidadjacent running rail in such a manner that dirt and foreign matter cannot collect between the guard rail and running rail, and thus form an obstruction to the flange of a passing wheel that might result in a derailment.

And still another object is to provide a guard rail, which, in addition to having the v desirable characteristics above mentioned,

is inexpensive to manufacture and capable of bein constructed from a piece of stand ard rol ed rail and a few castings or drop forgings of simple design that can be'easily connected together with conventional fastening devices such as rivets or bolts; Other guard rail to tilt,xrock ore-ant,

embodied in'a guard rail that is designed for use with a railway track frog, but we wish it to be understood that our invention is applicable to a guardrail. designed for use with a curved track, the only substantial difference between such rails being that one is practically straight and the other is curved." I

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the preferred form of'ourinvention, A designates our improved guard rail and B designates a running. rail at one side of said guard rail. When a wheel passes over a running rail that extends alongside of a guard rail, the side thrust which said wheel exerts on the head of the guard rail rocks said guard rail or cants it sidewise, due to the fact that the 'point at which the pressure is exerted on the guard rail, name- 1y, against one side of the head, is considerably higher than the supporting surface on' which the base flange of the guard rail rests and on which one edge of the base flange fulcrums. No matter how securely the b'aseflange of the. guard rail may be fastened to the supporting structure, the guard --'rail will soon workloose when it is held simply by fastening devices that act on the base flange, thus increasing the distance between the heads of the running rail and the guard rail and throwing the track outof gauge. In order to eliminate this tendency of a guard rail to tilt, rock or cant sidewise, we have devised a guard rail that is provided on one side with a plurality of spaced laterally-projecting devices that bear tightly against the undersideof the head of the running rail which extends alongside of the guard rail. When a wheel passes over the running rail the headof the guard rail is subjected to a side thrust tending to tilt or rock itlaterally, but in view of the fact that devices on the guard -rail contact with a part on the running rail that is located in' close proximity to the horizontal plane where the side thrust is exerted on the head of the guard-rail, the tendency of the guard rail to tilt or rock sidewise is effectively resisted. In the form of our invention herein illustrated a plurality of spaced devices C project laterally from one side of the guard devices C to virtually lock the guard rail rail A and engagethe underside ofthehead of the adjacent running-railB,as shown, in Figure 3. Preferably the devices C are so formed that the outer ends-of same conform to the finishing section on the adjacent side of the running rail 50- as to causesaid tical movement of the guard rail and running rail. Our broad idea contemplates equipping the guard railA with any form of laterally-projecting devices that bear against the underside of the head of the running rail, or which bear against the underside of the head and also against the upper side of the base flange of the running rail, and which are spaced apart so as to prevent dirt from accumulating between the guard rail and the running rail, as might occur if the guard rail were equipped with a continuous device projecting laterally from one side of same, said devices being preferably shaped so as to conform to the fishing section of the running rail. The devices C may either consist of castings or drop forgings that are connected by bolts of rivets to a piece of standard T-rail that is used to form the guard rail, or the guard rail and the laterally-projecting means on same can be' con structed in the form of a single casting. Preferably, the devices C'consist of drop forgings'of substantially U-shape in general outline whose legs are equipped with flanges 1 that are secured by fastening devices 2 to the web of the guard rail and which are shaped so that theywill conform to the fishingsection of the guard rail. The devices C that are arranged adjacent the ends of the guard rail are provided with angularly-disposed extensions 80, as shown in Figure 1, that project towards the web of the running rail so as to prevent a persons foot from becoming caught in the space between the guard rail and the running rail, it being of course understood that the end portions of the guard rail are inclinedslightly with relationto the running rail so as to provide a proper clearance for a wheel approaching from either direction.

' The guard rail A and the running rail B are supported by tie plates D, each of-which is equipped with a shoulder 3 thatis engaged by the outer edge of the base flange of the guard rail and a shoulder 4 that is engaged by the outer edge of the base flange of the running rail. The shoulders 3 on the tie plates serve as abutments that prevent the guard rail from moving bodily away from the running rail when the head of the guard rail is subjected to a side thrust from a passing wheel. Any other suitable means could neutrals of the guard rail to receive the spikes orother devices 5 that are usedto securely clamp the guard rail downwardly on the tie plates D and to attach said tie plates to the ties (not shown); While these notches do not appear on the drawings, it will be apparent from Figure 3 that the outer edge of the base flange of the guard rail is provided with such notches, because the shanks of the fastening devices 5 are illustrated as extending through the base flange of the guard rail. We, of course, realize that it is common practice to prevent a track rail or other track device from moving longitudinally by means of a tie spike that passes through a hole or notch in the base flange of the rail, and while we prefer to use such a means for preventing longitudinal movement of the guard rail on account of its simplicity, we wish it to be understood that any other means could be used for this purpose with out departing from the spirit of our invention.

The devices C or other means that is used to eliminate the possibility of the guard rail rocking or tilting sidewise is permanently connected to, the guard rail at the factory where said guard rail is made so that when the guardrail is being installed it is only necessary to arrange it alongside oi the running rail, move it laterally towards the running rail so as to cause the devices C to properly engage the running rail and cause the outer edge of the base flange of the guard rail to be engaged by the shoulders or abutments 8 on the tie plates, and thereafter, se-

cure said guard rail in position by means of W fastening devices 5 that are driven into the track ties. By constructing the guard rail in such a manner that it is not necessary to use clamps, bolts or other fastening devices to secure it to the running rail, the time and trouble of installing the guard rail or removing it is reduced to a minimum.

From the foregoing it will be seen that our improved guard rail is inexpensive to manufacture; it can be installed or removed quickly and easily, and after it has been installed, it will remain in proper spaced relation with the running rail, due to the fact that the tie spikes 5 or an equivalent means prevents the guard rail from moving longitudinally of. the track. The abutments 3 on the tie plates prevent the guard rail from moving bodily away from the running rail and the laterally-projecting devices 0 on the guard rail which bear against the head and base flange of the running rail efi'ectively prevent theguard rail from rocking or'tilting laterally under the side thrust of a passing wheel and also insure the guard rail deflecting as a unit with the running rail when a load passes over the runing rail. The guard rail A can either be of the same height as the running rail, or slightly higher, and said guard rail can be constructed from a piece of standard T-raiI to which cast or forged devices C are connected. The particular number of'devices C that the guard is equipped with'is'also'immaterial, but a suf ficient number of devices C should be usedso as to insure the guard rail being held throughout its entire length in proper spaced relation with the co-operating running rail and said devices C should be spaced far enough apart to permit dirt and foreign matter to drop through the space between A. guard rail provided at one side with a;

plurality of laterally-projecting devices, for the purpose described, each of which consists of a substantially U-shaped member whose side legs are connected to the Web of the guard rail and whose outer end portion is shaped so as to conform approximately to the fishing section of the running rail alongside of which the guard rail is arranged.

ROBERT E. EINSTEIN. BENJAMIN B. BETTS. 

